Place all ingredients in a large food processor and process until it will stick together nicely when you pick some up and squeeze it in your hand. Roll into balls, or press into a square pan and freeze. Optional: drizzle honey on top, or spread on the ‘chocolate butter” also. These will store best in the freezer, but fridge will work too.

Ingredients for Chocolate Butter:

Training your deep ab muscles is essential if you’re looking to achieve a 6 pack or develop proper muscle strength. As you do this exercise, think about pulling your deep pelvic floor up and then releasing it slowly as you come back to your starting position.

Primary Muscles Worked

Pelvic Floor

Abs

Obliques

Secondary Muscles Worked

I’m officially the mother of three beautiful children, and I’m in my first week of mothering them alone without the help of Dad!

Aside from my wanting to nap during story time or use the Lego tower as a pillow…we are transitioning really well into a family of five. The labor this time was not as glorious as I had prayed for (more on that at a later date), so my body has needed more sleep and lots of great nutrition to recover. I am beyond thankful for the friends and family who stepped up and brought us dinners, cleaned out my fridge, made me fresh vegetable juices, played with my kids, and loved on baby Adelaide that first week. You helped my little family stay on our feet and get through that first week with ease. We truly felt blessed and are so thankful for the sacrifices you made to make sure we were taken care of.

So here I am week two, chomping at the bit to get back into my workout routine! And before you send messages telling me not to worry about the baby weight or to just enjoy that little one (I think she is looking forward to a break from being kissed a million times an hour) my desire for those long lost workouts is due to my love for movement, not my short shorts. After feeling my body slow down for almost ten months, being able to run as fast I can or push my limits in spin class again sounds like the most amazing thing in the world! But don’t worry. We’re starting off slowly!

This week’s focus has been all about nutrition. Throughout the pregnancy, I focused on getting the nutrition my body needed and loved and pretty much relaxed on the amount of carbohydrates I was taking in. Due to the fact that 90% of my diet was very healthy, I stayed active and I was growing a little human, if I felt like a extra piece of coconut bread or a second serving of yams at dinner, I was going to have it.

Prepping the pantry for post-baby, I focused on stocking up on healthy fats, lots of protein, vegetable juices, and healthy carbohydrates. Having a baby is like running the most intense marathon of your life or taking on an Iron Man. Your body is worn out and your organs need fueling…and goes on for days.

Post-baby, I do not live by the mentality of “I’m breast feeding so I can eat it.” Not only is this a slippery slope for creating bad habits, but eating this way also deprives your body of the nutrition it needs for a fabulous recovery.

Carbohydrates – Deliver fresh glucose into the body, allowing for muscle and organ repair. They also help our brain think clearly.

Vegetable juices – Supply the blood stream with loads of minerals and nutrition. This builds up our immune system, which helps to fight infection and disease and speeds up healing.

When it comes to getting back on the workout wagon post baby, don’t stress over the workouts that have to wait for your body to completely heal. Focus on building a foundation of nutrition that supplies the body with goodness and will have you feeling great as you walk into that first boot camp class. Nutrition is 80% of the work! So the next time you are on the fence about your meal planning for the week, remind yourself that if you aren’t thoughtful about it, you will be throwing 80% of your results to chance that week.

Whether you are a mom of a new baby or the girl trying to get her butt motivated for that new workout routine, you can do it!

In order to carry out a positive action, we must first develop a positive vision.

– Dalai Lama

Current favorite recovery juice cocktail:

This juice is packed with probiotics that will aid the gut in healthy digestion, which removes inflammation from the muscles, aiding in quicker recovery times.

All of these ingredients can be purchased at a grocery store like Nature’s Fare. I used all organic ingredients.

Alright it’s time to skip your coffee today and try this Matcha green tea latte instead! It will give you the caffeine boost you crave, but without that coffee crash. This is full of antioxidants, boosts your metabolism, and fights cancer- just to name a few great things about matcha! And if you want a cold drink, just add ice!

Ingredients:

1 tsp non sweetened matcha tea powder (it is harder to find, but it’s worth it because all the other ones have lots of sugar already added to the mix)

2 packets stevia (or your sweetener of choice)

1.5 cups almond milk (or non dairy milk of choice)

1/4 cup water

Directions:

Add matcha green tea powder to 1/4 cup water and whisk together in a small pot, then add the sweeteners and milk. That’s it! Enjoy!

Note: you could also do an iced version, just add ice as the very last step and voila!

Primary Muscles Worked

Secondary Muscles Worked

Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Equipment Needed: TRX

Beginner: Perform each exercise for 30 seconds. Intermediate: Perform each exercise for 45 to 60 seconds. Set your workout timer for 10 minutes and repeat the sequence as many times as possible in that time period.

All of these ingredients can be purchased at a grocery store like Nature’s Fare. I used all organic ingredients.

Dairy free, Sugar free

You just gotta have some great frozen treats on hand in the summer time! I know I do! Who doesn’t like a good popsicle fresh from the freezer? Everyone does! You’ll love these 2 creamy popsicles, they will bring you back to the ice cream treats you used to buy at your corner store as a child – fudgsicles and creamsicles! Sweet creamy goodness on a stick, whats not to love?

You can also mix and match the fruit in the creamsicles. You could swap the cherries for any other fruit you like! Try using berries, mango, or oranges!

Fudgsicles:

1 can coconut milk (you could use light coconut milk, but you will sacrifice some of the creaminess)

1 banana

1/4 cup raw cacao

1 TB raw honey

stevia to taste ( I usually use 2 packets)

Creamsicles:

1 can coconut milk

1/2 cup cherries

1 banana

1 TB raw honey

stevia tot taste ( I usually use 2 packets)

Directions:

Just blend up the ingredients and freeze! I don’t think I really needed to tell you how to make a popsicle, but I just did anyways 🙂

My passion and dedication to my work comes from a very personal place. I am determined to see woman freed from the lies and destructive lifestyles that are plaguing them. My goal is for women around the world to reach beyond what they thought they were capable of, live a healthy lifestyle and discover true happiness in their bodies.